Common-school writing-cabinet



(No M0de1.}`

H.' HUNT. COMMON SCHOOL WRITING CABINET.

No. 531,799. Patented Jan. 1,1895.

UNITED STATES Par-ENT Ormea HORATIO HUNT, OF SWITZ CITY, INDIANA.

COMMON-SCHOOL WRITING-CABIN ET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,799, dated January1,1895

Application iiled November `l, 1894.

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, HORATIO HUNT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Switz City, in the county of Greene and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Common-SchoolW'riting- Cabinets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

In teaching penmanship, especially in the public schools the care of thepen and ink during the intervals between lessons is the cause of muchannoyance by the methods now in vogue and also results in much expensefor supplies which might be materially lessened. By the present methodsin most schools, the desks are equipped with ink wells which aresecurely fastened to the desks within easy access of the child, beingthereby a source of constant temptation and forming a fruitfuloccupation for his idle moments in disguring books and all otheraccessible objects. Besides the direct waste of ink much is also lost byevaporation because ofthe carelessness of the child who in most caseswill neglect to close the covers of the wells. Besides the evaporation,dirt is allowed to enter because of the open condition of the wells andthe ink is rendered unt for use. By present methods each scholar iscustodian of his own pen. Ile plays with it, loses or breaks it andoftentimes exchanges pens and holders with his neighbor, probablybecause of no distinguishing mark by which he may know his own, and thisforms an easy means for the dissemination of disease.

The objects of this invention are, rst, to remedy the above describedevils by providing ink wells that will be distributed when wanted foruse; that cannot be easily broken and from which the ink cannot spilland which exposes a minimum surface for evaporation; second, to providea receptable within which the ink wells will all be deposited after useand which can be rendered air tight to exclude dirt and preventevaporation: third, to provide pen-holders marked or numbered so eachscholar will know his own and provide a place of deposit for each penholder within the receptacle containing the ink wells, and

Serial No. 527,630. (No model.)

so arranged that each pen holder will be separated fromthe others, andwill have a certain designated place.

The object also is to provide a receptacle that can be placed on itsedge or side when closed, without danger of spilling the ink ordisarranging the contents of the box, thereby enabling the box to be setin any position and place most convenient, when the ink is not needed.

I accomplish the objects of this invention by the mechanism illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 visv a view inperspective of my receptacle and shows the ink wells and the pens inplace with the exception of one place for the ink wells and two of theplaces for the pen holders, which are left vacant in order to show theconstruction of the parts of the receptacle at said points. Fig. 2 is atransverse section through the receptacle and shows the manner in whichthe springs for holding the pen holders also bear upon the ink wellswhen the case is closed so as to prevent the displacement of the wells.In thisl figure one of the wells is shown in vertical section.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views of thedrawings.

A represents the receptacle or case which will preferably be made ofwood but if so desired may be made of metal such as tin or iron. It willconsist of the lower portion A having a bottom and four sides, and theupper portion A2 having a top and four depending sides secured to saidtop so as to from a recess within which the pen holders will be securedin the manner as will be hereinafter fully described.

C is a tray which will be secured either permanently or removably withinthe lower section A of the case and at a suitable distance above thebottom of the case. It will be provided with a series of openings C toreceive the ink wells which will be deposited therein.

B are the ink wells which will preferably be of glass and of the patternshown in the drawings which will obviate the spilling of the ink andwill also provide a very strong and durable Well such that should thesame be accidentally dropped and fall to the door it will notbreak orspill the ink. The openings in the tray will correspond in size andshape to the cross section of the well and will be so destributed as toprevent contact between the wells.

D is a gasket of rubber or other elastic material and is here shown asfastened to the rim of the lower section A although it might be fastenedto the rim of the upper section with equal effectiveness. The twosections A and A2 are hinged together by means of the hinges a and theedges of the two sections will coincide when closed. The object andpurpose of the gasket is to produce a tight fitting joint between theedges of the two sections and render the receptacle practically airtight when it is closed. The fastening E will include a cam or similarmovement whereby the two edges of the case can be forced together andheld securely.

G represents the pen holders which will be of usual construction andwill be marked by numerals reading from l upwardly according to thenumber of pens in use, each pen bearing a separate number or otherdesignating mark.

H represents an elastic fastening by which the pen holders are securedto the inside of the lid of the case. This will preferably consist of astrip of rubber bent into folds as clearly shown in the drawings andsecured by tacking the same between the folds in the manner as shown at72, Fig. 1. Two strips will preferably be used for each row of penh`olders and the strips will be placed so as to overlie the ink wells inorder that when the lid is closed the wells will be held fromdisplacement. Instead of rubber the fastenings might be made from metalwithout departing fromthe spirit ot this invention.

The combination, with the receptacle A in two sections hinged togetherand having a rubber gasket between the meeting edges of the two sectionsand means for forcing the sections together and securing them, of a traysecured within the lower section and having aseries of openings inparallel therein, ink i wells removably secured in said openings, penracks secured within the upper section of the receptacle and formed fromrubber or other elastic material bent to engage the pen holders and alsoto depend from the top so as to bear against the ink wells when the caseis closed and hold the wells from displacement,

lsubstantially as described and arranged substantially as and for .thepurposes specified. In testimony whereof Iaftix my signature i-npresence ot two witnesses.

HORATIO HUNT. Vitnesses:

JOSEPH A. MINTURN, T. F. MEANY.

